Baby Swan
by Yawping Stance
Summary: Answer to a challenge. There's a second Swan sister. Yes, I know, it's been done before, but here's a bit of a twist to it: Rebecca Swan is Elizabeth's 10yearold sister. She sneaks onto the boat...ship...and gets WAY more than she bargained for! COMPLETE
1. Rebecca

**Disclaimer: Don't own, Disney does. If I did own, I'd be very familiar with Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. **

A/N: This is for a challenge I've found in the forums, proposed by ShadowRess. Second Swan Sister story(yay! alliteration!), only she has to be ten or younger. Sue? I dunno. You decide. Enjoy!

_Chapter One_

Elizabeth, being a light sleeper, was woken by the sound of scurrying in her room. She lay motionless, pretending to be asleep. No good. She felt little ten-year-old feet jumping up and down on her bed, somewhere near her calves. She moaned and stuffed her head under the pillows.

"Get up! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and your _darling_ captain awaits your arrival."

"I don't want to and you can't make me!" came Elizabeth's muffled voice from beneath the pillows.

"But _Lizzie!_ The poor Captain-excuse me, _Commodore_- would be so disappointed if you didn't go to his coronation-y thingy!"

"A coronation is when a new monarch is crowned, _Rebecca_." She pulled her head out from under the pillows and put her feet on the floor. "And if _you're_ so intent on it, why don't _you_ go?" She crossed over to her desk.

"Because 1) it would bore me to tears, and 2) _I'm_ not the one being proposed to, am I?"

"How do you know he'll propose _today_?" She shuffled around some papers in the drawer.

"It's called an opportune moment, Liz. He'll be all promoted and stuffy, then he'll get Father's permission to take you on a stroll. Then he'll take your hands, look deep into your limpid blue-"

"_Brown_."

"Brown eyes and say 'Miss Swan...Elizabeth...will you marry me?'" She put a hand on her forehead and swooned dramatically backwards onto the bed. She looked up to see Elizabeth's reaction. Elizabeth brushed some of the dust off of the pirate medallion she'd found on Will all those years ago. She put it around her neck. Rebecca sat up and cocked her head to one side. "What's that?"

"Nothing. Just an old bit of jewelry." There was a knock on the door.

"Elizabeth? Are you decent?" Elizabeth stuffed the medallion down her nightgown and got a dressing robe on.

"Yes. Yes!" Her father walked in.

Will waited patiently downstairs in the foyer. He'd heard childish yells of "get up!" upstairs and smiled, knowing it was Rebecca. He looked up at the (rather hideous) antique coat rack mounted next to the door. He ran his hand along one crook to get some of the dust off. Something barreled into his stomach and the entire coat rack came off in his hand. He looked around wildly, and there Rebecca stood, smiling up at him, arms still around his middle. He looked at her, at the wall, at the coat rack in his hand, then back at Rebecca in wide-eyed, silent panic. She let go of his waist. She took his wrist gently and guided his hand slowly down into the umbrella stand and pried his fingers from the coat rack. It fell a short distance with a small _thunk_. Rebecca locked her lips with an invisible key and threw it over her shoulder.

"Nobody will notice it's missing. We never use it, anyways." He smiled at her.

"Now the question is, how did you get down here without my hearing you?" Rebecca stuck out one of her bare feet. "Ah."

"Rebecca! Why aren't you ready?" She turned around and her father and sister were standing at the top of the landing looking down at her.

"I thought I didn't have to go." The other two descended.

"Well, seeing as you're old enough, I thought that it seemed right." Elizabeth stuck her tongue out while no one was looking.

"But _Father_," she whined, "I wanted to go with Will!" Rebecca thought for a moment. "Besides, there will be sharp, pointy objects, guns, and fire. I believe you remember the last time that I was around sharp objects, guns, and fire, don't you?"

"Sir, if I may?" Will asked. The governor nodded his permission. "With all due respect, Sir, I'm not sure if allowing young Miss Swan around guns would be the soundest judgment. Also, I don't think she's...emotionally mature enough to attend such an event as Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony. She's likely to be...mischievous." He gave a small wink to Rebecca when her father wasn't looking. Elizabeth stood there, looking dumbfounded at the unfairness of it all and that Will had taken her sister's side.

"Mischievous?" Will led Rebecca through the streets of Port Royale. "You think I'm _mischievous_?"

"Quite frankly, yes. And would you rather be called mischievous, or attend the promotion ceremony?"

"Tough choice..."

"I could take you back right now. Tell your father that you convinced me you were mature enough."

"Mischief is my middle name!"

"That's what I thought."

"...Threatened Miss Swan." Will and Rebecca stopped dead in their tracks.

"A _pirate_, you say?"

"Oh, yes. Lark or Sparrow or some bird like that, I think his name was."

"Has he been re-captured?"

"No. They're still looking for him, but no luck, as far as I've heard. Very tricky, this one." Will gave Rebecca a little push on the back.

"Come on, Becca. The sooner we get you inside, the better." He led her to Brown's Blacksmith.

Becca dug in a haystack towards the back for the pair of boy's clothes she kept here. Mind you, she didn't _like_ wearing boy's clothes by any stretch of the imagination. She hated trousers. But it was easier to help Will around the smithy in boy's clothes than to help him in petticoats. She went behind the large haystack to change. Will's eyes fell on Mister Brown, snoozing with his brandy, and he smiled.

"Right where I left you." His eyes then fell on his hammer on the anvil. "Not where I left you." There was an obscure shape next to it. As Will moved closer, he saw that the shape was a battered old Hat with an enormous feather in it. He reached out to grab it and felt the sharp sting of the flat of a blade hit the back of his hand. He looked up and saw a strange man looking back at him.

"Do _not_ touch The Hat," the man said menacingly. If the situation hadn't been more serious, Will would have laughed. Not only at his over-protectiveness of his Hat, but at him in general.

"You're the one they're looking for," Will said. "The pirate."

* * *

Apologies in advance for any mistakes I make throughout this. This is my first PotC fic, and I'm _way_ out of my element here, so please review! I need some honest feedback! 


	2. Baby Swan

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't rub it in.**

_Chapter 2_

While the witty banter bit of the duel was going on, Becca was on her back behind the haystack, struggling with the trousers. Actually, _cursing_ the trousers, is more like it. She finally managed to get them on and walked from behind the haystack to see Will dueling with a strange man. The man spotted her.

"Ah! Good evening, my lady!" he said facetiously. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service!" He swept his Hat off with a flourish and an overstated elegant bow. Rebecca giggled, not recognizing the name, although it seemed familiar. He resumed dueling with Will. Although Becca liked this man, she felt a duty to rout for Will.

"...And I practice with them three hours a day."

"You need to find yourself a girl, mate. Or maybe...you've found yourself a girl and are otherwise incapable of _wooing_ said strong person. You're not a eunuch, are you?" Becca cocked her head to one side, as was habit when she was curious.

"What's a eunuch?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." Captain Jack Sparrow looked between Will and Rebecca, immediately spotting the many similarities.

"Ah! So you _did_ find a girl!" He laughed loudly at this while easily blocking the other man's sword.

"She's not mine. She's the governor's younger daughter."

"She don't look like her sister."

"No, she looks like her mother."

"So I've got a baby Swan, now."

"You won't dare _touch_ her. Not while I'm alive!"

"Oh, come on, mate. Threatening the governor's daughter's always good for a quick escape. I can always use her, if the other gets too used to it."

"Over my dead body." Will thrust his sword and Jack stepped back to avoid it. It was here that Jack found himself in a true sticky spot, because he felt the point of a knife against his lower back and the point of a sword against his chest. He turned around to come face-to-face with a very fierce-looking Rebecca.

"Tha's very interesting," he muttered.

"You threatened my sister."

"Only a little, Love."

"Don't you _dare_ have the audacity to call me Love!"

"The awe-what? You use words a humble pirate such as meself can't understand." He smiled condescendingly and put a hand on her head. In a flash, the knife had cut the side of his wrist at the bone.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

"_Rebecca!_" Will had seen many spontaneous things from this child in her short life span, but never had he seen her like this. Jack, now getting tired of treating "his baby Swan" nicely, leered over her, being nearly twice her height. She bent down, having lost her courage, and dropped the knife. He smiled nastily at her and she squealed, running to hide behind Will. In the end, it was Jack who won.

"You cheated," Will growled.

"Pirate," Jack pointed out. There was a smashing sound like the shattering of glass and the pirate fell over. Mr. Brown stood, looking pleased with himself.

"Is he dead?" Becca asked, shyly nudging him in the ribs with her foot.

"Ah, good work, Mister Brown." Commodore Norrington had slipped in unnoticed.

"Jus' doing muh civic duty, suh," Brown wheezed.

"But Commodore, Will-" but Will just put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Norrington looked down at her.

"Ah, Miss Swan! What are you doing here...and in those _dreadful_ clothes? Come, let's get you home." But when he reached out for her hand, she backed up closer to Will.

"Father said that I could spend the day with Will, er- Mr. Turner." Norrington looked skeptical and Will nearly sniggered at being addressed so formally by Becca.

"He did say that, sir," he assured him. "I agreed to return her home later this evening." Norrington nodded.

"I'm trusting you, Mr. Turner. Good evening, Mr. Brown, Miss Swan." He nodded at each of them in turn.

"Commodore." Becca made to curtsey, but then remembered her attire and merely nodded her head. Commodore Norrington left, his men dragging the unconscious Captain Jack Sparrow behind them.


	3. Jack

**Disclaimer: I disclaim everything. Period.**

A/N: Special thanks to Annise for "signet." _Smithy (because your review wasn't signed): actually, she's got a bit of a crush on him herself, but we won't see that until later. But when it all boils down, yeah, she'd choose him over Norrie any day._

_Chapter Three_

"Why didn't you say anything, Will?" Becca was yelling at him later thatevening when Mr. Brown had left.

"I didn't want to cause any complications," Will told her calmly. "Mr. Brown could very easily fire me. Then I'd be out of a job _and_ a home." He lived above the smithy.

"You're too righteous, you know that?" He smiled.

"I'd rather be too righteous and be rewarded than be too wicked and be condemned." There was no reply to this, only more shuffling as she scuttled about the smithy.

"I'd like to see how he fares in a fair fight," she spat after a while.

"Do you really think you could get someone like that to fight fair?" She shrugged.

"I could try. I'm better than you think." He snickered.

"And I suppose you just _let _me win, do you?"

"Yes," the child fibbed. He just smiled and shook his head. There was the distant sound of gunfire outside. Will looked curiously out of the window. "What is it?" He grabbed his hammer and a hatchet. "Will!" Becca pleaded. He bent down to her.

"Stay here until I come back. Don't even _try_ to go home until I'm back, so I can go with you. Understand?" She nodded.

"Be careful."

"I probably won't even be that long." He kissed her forehead, straitened up, and left.

* * *

Becca opened her eyes blearily the next morning. She'd fallen asleep shortly after Will had left. Looking around and finding the smithy empty, she began to panic. She hurried through the streets, calling for Will. She found him in time to see him being escorted away from Commodore Norrington. Will ran a frustrated hand along his scalp.

"Will? What's wrong? Why didn't you come home last night?" Will sighed. How could he break this to such a young girl?

"Pirates. They've taken Elizabeth." Becca gaped at him.

"What are we doing standing here, then?" she asked furiously. She started off to the docks, but Will grabbed her by the back of the shirt.

"You've a stout heart. But even if you _were_ coming, that's not what we'd do first." He turned toward the jail. Becca ran to catch up with him.

"What do you mean, '_if_ I'm coming'? Of course I'm coming!"

"No, you aren't. It's too dangerous."

"Yes, I am! She's _my_ sister!" He turned and bent down to her.

"Becca, please. You're too young, and I don't want you to get hurt, or worse. You talk now, but people _will_ die. You're too young to see that." She sighed.

"Fine, but where are you going?" He started walking again.

"The jail."

"Why?"

"To catch a pirate, you have to have someone who _thinks _like a pirate."

When the got to the cell, they found Jack Sparrow flat on his back on the ground. Becca cocked her head to one side.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He lifted up his head.

"Eh? Oh. It's you!" He jumped up and sank into another elaborate bow. "My lady." She giggled again when he winked at her while straitening up.

"_You_ don't talk to her," Will growled protectively.

* * *

"You sprung him from jail! I can't believe you sprung a _pirate_ from jail!"

"A little louder, Becca, I don't think _Singapore_ heard you," Will muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"I've been to Singapore," Jack put in. "Lovely place." Both ignored him.

"Go home. Now."

"But-"

"_Go home_, Rebecca." He glared sternly at her. She glared back for a moment, then turned and stalked off, hurt. Once she was sure he wouldn't look back, she doubled back toward the dock.

* * *

And so it begins. More soon, I believe. Unfortunately, this also means more plotholes because it's been a while since I've seen the movie, so I'll try the best I can. I can't know what I'm doing wrong if you guys don't review! ;) 


	4. Fightingof All Sorts

**Disclaimer: I own Rebecca and only Rebecca.**

A/N: Again, thanks to Annise for "signet." You'll actually see it in this chaper. :) Next stop: Tortuga!

_Chapter Four_

"I think we've got a bilge rat problem."

"What makes you say that?"

"Or maybe a bird problem. Found this huge one roosting in the cargo hold." Jack dragged Becca topside by the scruff of her neck. "I's on'y a baby, though." Will looked incredulously at her. She shrugged Jack off.

"'Huge bird' indeed! _You're_ one to talk, _Sparrow!_"

"_Captain_ Sparrow." She squinted at him.

"Rebecca, I thought I told you to go home."

"You did."

"So...Why are you on this ship?"

"Because you're not my father and you can't tell me what to do." He took a step toward her, his hands in a strangling motion at the level of her neck, then ran a hand through his hair. "Besides, it looks like you've got no choice, have you? You've stolen a boat-"

"_Commandeered_ a _ship_!" Jack corrected. "_Nautical terms_, love! Nautical terms!"

"Commandeered a ship, sorry, and technically, kidnapped the governor's other daughter."

"I _did not_ kidnap you! You snuck on!"

"Tell that to Commodore Norrington." Will sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But you're _not_ seeing _any_ battle of _any_ sort, understood?"

"Yes, _mother_." Jack laughed, and his smiled dropped after a quick glare from Will. Jack cleared his throat.

"I mean...erm..."

"Quit while you're ahead," Becca advised. "I've seen him when he's angry. It's not pretty." Jack nodded.

"So, what're we to do with you?" Will wondered aloud, looking at Becca. "Not much you _can_ do."

"I can help!" Becca assured him eagerly. "Like..." She looked quickly around for something to do. She spotted the netting leading up to the furled sales. "Up there!"

"No! Do you _want_ your father to kill me?"

"What? You don't think I can?"

"It's not that I don't think you can, it's just...If you fall...I couldn't bear to have something happen to you." She looked down shyly, smiling to herself and blushing.

"I've got somethin' for 'er to do," Jack put in. Will looked at him suspiciously.

"Does it have anything to do with heights?" He pointed up to the rigging.

"No."

"Weapons?"

"No."

"Fire counts as a weapon, you know."

"No it doesn't!"

"With her it does!" Jack raised an eyebrow at Becca, who smiled innocently.

"No. No fire involved."

"Alright. But if you somehow found a loophole and she gets hurt, it's on _your_ head!"

"She couldn't _possibly_ hurt 'erself doing this." Will nodded his consent, but still looked suspiciously at Jack. "Okay, Signet, you're with me." She looked at Will.

"What's a signet?"

"A baby swan. It's like duckling or gosling...or kitten." He smiled at her tauntingly. He liked this new name for her. She squinted at him angrily and followed Jack below deck.

* * *

"'It's this or the brig, Signet,'" Becca muttered beneath her breath in a mocking tone. "'It's not that bad, Signet.' 'It's better then latrine duty, Signet.' Blah blah blah!" she made a face at the scrub brush in her hand. "Latrine duty! _What_ latrine? There _is no_ latrine! I hate you!" she added, yelling it at the ceiling. "Scrubbing floors. I could be useful for so many other things, and the bloody pirate's got me _scrubbing floors_. Never mind I'm the only one light enough and quick enough to climb up the rigging. Never mind I'm the governor's daughter. Oh, no, I get the thrilling job of scrubbing bloody floors! _They don't even need to be scrubbed!_"

"I never said there _was_ a latrine, just that it was better than latrine _duty_, because it is." Jack leaned against the door jam with his arms folded across his chest. She looked at him.

"Well...there _are_ better things I could be doing."

"Do you know how to steer a ship?"

"No."

"Do you know how to work a rudder?"

"No."

"Do you know how to work the sails?"

"No."

"Then there's nothin' better you could be doing."

"You _could_ be teaching me how to fight, you know." Jack raised an eyebrow. "I'm on a boat-"

"_Ship!_"

"-Ship in the middle of the sea scrubbing floors in _trousers_. At least _one_ part of this whole thing should be enjoyable."

"You enjoy swordplay?"

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Just...not one of the usual interests of a girl your age."

"And what do you think my 'usual interests' should be?" He shrugged.

"Playing with dolls? I dunno, do I _look_ like a ten-year-old girl?"

"Maybe," she muttered. She glanced up and smirked at him. He pursed his lips and jutted his chin out.

"Fine." He handed her a sword. "Now, if I step here..." He attacked first and she managed to block him. "Good. Now, what about this?" He struck again, but Becca had misjudged where the stroke would land. He struck her lightly on the side of her neck with the flat of the blade. "Congratulations, you're dead. Lesson over." He turned to go back topside.

"But Jack!" He turned around. This was the first time she'd addressed him by his first name. "They really don't need to be scrubbed. It's a brand new _military_ ship."

"Signet-" Becca started pouting. He looked away, not wanting to have to succumb to the power of the "puppy dog face." "_No_," he said forcefully. Becca fell to her knees and started crying. Jack turned and looked at her, her face already red and tearstained. Becca glanced up momentarily to see a look of pity and guilt on Jack's face, and cried harder.

* * *

"One. Two. Three. Very good!" Jack easily blocked Becca as she attacked. "Can't see how you learned anything with Junior over there teachin' you." Will looked up from what he was doing and scowled.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, striding over to the pair.

"Well, I'm teachin' 'er how to fight. She's improved a lot." Jack nodded sincerely.

"Why?"

"Because _I'm_ teachin' 'er."

"No. _Why_ are you teaching her?"

"Well, she won't be much use, not knowing how to fight. She'd be dead in the firs' five minutes, if it ever came to it." Will let out a frustrated sigh.

"Jack, can I talk to you? _Over there_?" Before Jack could answer, Will had dragged him out of earshot. "_What are you doing_? If she gets hurt, it's on _my_ head!"

"I wouldn't 'urt 'er."

"No, but other pirates _would_. Besides, you're getting her hopes up that she's actually going to get to fight!"

"Why wouldn't she?"

"_Because it's dangerous_, Jack! She's a little girl, and she's got some..._romanticized_ idea about pirates. That they wouldn't lay a finger on her because she's little, and that the good guys always win! Now, _you_ know that's not true, and _I_ know that's not true, but _she_ doesn't! And if you put some notion into her head that she can fight these...these...these _pirates_, that's as good as killing her! Because what if the good guys _don't_ win? What then?"

"Tha's the thing about you, mate. You're always tiptoein' on eggshells 'round 'er. And what if...What if we were boarded, eh? What if Barbossa and 'is crew came onto this ship, and there was a fight. You wouldn't be there to keep an eye on 'er, would you? So she would need a way to protect 'erself-"

"Lock herself in one of the cabins!" Jack let out a snort of laughter.

"You don't think they'd _look_ there? Will, these pirates 'ave got only two things on their mind: Liftin' the curse, and killin' you and anyone who stands with you. That includes li'l ten-year-old girlies that snuck onto the ship. She needs to know this kind of stuff, just in case." Jack nodded and walked off. Will sighed and banged his head on the wall.


	5. Tortuga! or Stepping on Eggshells

**Disclaimer: I own Rebecca. Don't own anything else. STOP RUBBING IT IN!**

Spring break is a wonderful thing, my friends. Is it not?

_Chapter Five_

"So, when are we going ashore?" Rebecca looked hopefully at Will. They'd been anchored off the shore of Tortuga for about an hour.

"Correction: When are _Jack and I_ going ashore. _You're_ staying on the ship."

"Why?"

"Because you're too-"

"Too young?" She folded her arms across her chest and looked at him.

"Exactly."

"But-"

"_No buts!_"

"Fine!" She stomped off below deck, fuming.

"Like I said, mate, tiptoein' on eggshells 'round 'er." Will whirled around and pointed at him.

"And _you_! 'Tiptoeing on eggshells' am I? Well if I'm tiptoeing, you're stomping all over them! You're going to get her killed!"

"_I'm making sure she can protect herself so that she won't if things get bad!_" Will stared, amazed and rather shell shocked. Jack took a deep breath in and regained his cool. "I'm on'y tryin' to help."

"Yeah? Well, you're not."

"Aren't you at least gonna let the lass stretch 'er legs a li'l? Let 'er go ashore for a while?"

"On _Tortuga_? You've got to be joking!" Jack folded his arms and tilted his head to one side. "You're not joking."

"On'y for a li'l while!"

"Jack, I haven't even _been_ to Tortuga and I know it's a bad idea! I've heard stories-"

"Hang the stories! Come on, mate! Tortuga...builds character!" He smiled and punched Will in the shoulder. Will frowned and rubbed his shoulder. "She'll stay with me, I swear. Pirate's honor."

"One: I don't trust you with a child as far as I can throw you. Two: 'Pirate's honor'? That's worth about as much to me as shot in the foot and a stick in the eye."

"Alright, then, she'll stay with _you_ the entire time."

"But I'll, in turn, be with you."

"Exactly! So she'll stay with me the entire time, but you'll also be there, so she'll be with _you_ the entire time, as well. So you see? I'm always a man of my word!" He smiled as if his word were actually _worth_ something. "Like I said, builds character! It'll put some hair on 'er chest!"

"She's a girl."

"Figure of speech, mate. 'Sides, never said it'd be attractive." Will shut his eyes tightly and shook his head to get rid of all the disturbing mental images. "So what'd ya say, eh?"

"No." He began to walk away.

"But-"

"Look, Jack, I know what's best for her."

"And I don't?" Will held back a snort of laughter.

"Since when were _you_ qualified to take care of a child?"

"Well, I seem to be doing a better job of it than you." Will stopped and turned.

"What makes you say that?"

"Kept 'er outa trouble, 'aven't I? Kept 'er off the rigging, 'aven't I? Managed to keep 'er entertained and teach 'er 'ow to defend 'erself. More than you've managed, I know that."

"As evidenced by _what_?"

"As evidenced by the fact that she's on this ship." Jack folded his arms, knowing he'd won. Will sighed.

"Trumped," he muttered quietly, so that Jack couldn't hear. "Trumped by a _pirate_."

* * *

"Remind me again, _why_ am I letting her here?"

"Because I said so."

"Right. So..._why_ am I letting her here?" Will didn't take his eyes off of Rebecca for a moment as Jack steered him by the shoulder through the streets of the town.

"If every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted." One of the many filthy drunks leered out at Becca, who shied away. Will grabbed her hand.

"Don't let go of me," he muttered to her. "Not even for a second. Understand?" She nodded, clinging onto Will's hand tighter.

"Ah! Here we are!" They were standing in front of a man who resembled very much a badger, in Rebecca's opinion, snoozing with his head resting on a pig. Jack grabbed a bucket of water and threw it on him. Badger Man shot up in an instant and pulled out a knife.

"Curse ya fer breathin', ya slack-jawed idiot! Oh, Jack, it's you." Badger Man smiled at him. "Ya shouldn' wake a man who's sleepin', ya know. Awful bad luck."

"Ah, but luckily, I know how to counter it. You see the man who did the wakin' was the man who was sleepin' drinks. But the man who was sleepin' drinks was the man listening to a proposition made by the man who did the wakin'." Badger Man did a bit of thinking on this.

"Aye, that'll about do it." He took the hand Jack offered and heaved himself up. Will grabbed another bucket and threw it on Badger Man.

"Curse ya! I'm already awake!"

"That was for the smell." Rebecca would have laughed at this, but her face was screwed up in concentration.

"So the man who was sleeping drinks," she muttered, "was the man who did the waking. But the man who was sleeping drinks was listening to a proposition made by...himself? Huh?" She distracted herself with this all the way to the tavern. She finally looked up when they got there, made aware of her surroundings by the many drunk and often violent people. She pressed closer against Will, who grasped her hand even tighter.

"Stay with me," he muttered to her. "And don't take anything from anyone."

"I know that! I'm not stupid, you know. So...help me with this. The man who was sleeping drinks was listening to a proposition made by the man who did the waking. But the man who did the waking was himself."

"No, that's not what Jack said. He said 'the man who did the waking was the man who was sleeping drinks. But the man who was sleeping drinks was the man listening to a proposition made by the man who did the waking.'"

"Oh. I don't get it." Will shrugged.

"Neither do I. It's bloody pirate logic." She turned and looked up at him.

"What've you got against pirates?"

"They kidnapped your sister, didn't they?"

"Okay, more specific: What've you got against _Jack_? What's he ever done? I mean, he's been nothing but helpful."

"I don't trust him."

"Why not?"

"Because he's a _pirate_. Pirates lie and cheat and steal and..."

"And a whole bunch of stuff you've never done. But you're still a pirate." He looked sharply at her.

"I am _not_ a pirate!" She shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Do you want to go back to the ship?"

"You're not my father, you can't make me.

"Wanna bet?" She folded her arms defiantly. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "I'll be right back," he added to Jack.

"No! Put me down!" Becca wailed, kicking at his chest and pounding her fists on his back. "Will! Put me down _right now_!" It went like this the rest of the way to the ship.

* * *

"Do you think you can behave yourself this time?" Will looked sternly at his young charge the next morning.

"Yes," she muttered, defeated.

"Because I'll drag you back to the ship again if I have to."

"No." Will nodded, satisfied. Jack led them off of the ship onto the dock, where there were at least ten men standing in a line. "_This_ is your fearless crew?" Jack nod was only met by skeptic looks from both Becca and Will. He walked up to an old man with a parrot on his shoulder.

"You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir," Badger Man-whose name turned out to be Mr. Gibbs-told him.

"Mr. Cotton! Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay brave in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Mr. Cotton just stood there. "Mr. Cotton! Answer me!"

"He's a mute, sir," Mr. Gibbs said quickly. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out. He trained the parrot to talk for him. None of us's quite figured _how_ yet." Becca squealed and hid her face in Will's arm when Mr. Cotton opened his mouth, revealing his stub of a tongue. Jack made a face and continued down the line, then doubled back.

"Mr. Cotton's..._parrot_, same question."

"Wind in your sails," the parrot chirped happily.

"Mostly we figure that means 'yes.'"

"Well _of course_ it does!" He turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've certainly proved their _crazy_ enough."

"And what's in it for us?" came a voice from down the line. Jack strode down the line and stood squarely in front of a boy with a very large hat. Jack looked under the hat, then took it off.

"Anna Maria!" Anna Maria slapped Jack fiercely.

"I suppose you didn't deserve _that one_, either?" Will said expectantly.

"Nope. No, I deserved that one." Anna Maria nodded fervently.

"You stole my _boat_!" She slapped him again.

"_Borrowed!_ I _borrowed_ your boat without permission...but with every intention of returning."

"But you _didn't_."

"You'll get another boat," Will put in.

"Aye, another boat," Jack echoed.

"A better boat."

"A _better_ one."

"That one."

"What one?" Will pointed. "_That one?_ Aye, that one," he said through gritted teeth with a forced smile. "What say you?" Anna Maria thought for a moment.

"Aye!" The rest of the crew echoed her "aye," and trooped onto the Interceptor.

"Oh, no, no, Jack!" Mr. Gibbs protested. "It's awful bad luck to have a woman aboard!"

"Aye, but it'd be far worse not to." Rebecca eyed the two warily and edged away.


	6. Because I Love You

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Norrie looks like Sam the American Eagle from the Muppets Show, though. And I own none of them, as well, so I might as well get on with it.**

_Chapter Six_

"Jack! We can drop anchor for the night!" Mr. Gibbs yelled above the roaring of the storm.

"She can hold a little longer!" Jack yelled back.

"What's got you in so fine a mood?"

"We're getting close." This was in so quiet a mutter that Mr. Gibbs could barely hear it. He did, though, and smiled a little and went back to work.

"How many times do I have to tell you," Will yelled above the wind and another wave crashing onto the deck, "Not to come topside in storms?"

"You've only told me once!" Becca yelled back. "And I want to help!" She screamed as she lost her grip on one of the ropes and stumbled backwards. Will managed to grab her wrist before she went overboard. He grabbed her sleeve because her wrist was so wet and slippery and managed to heave her safely back up onto the deck.

"Go back down!"

"No! I can help!"

"Signet!" They heard Jack's voice above the howling and the crashing. Becca looked up, blinking the water out of her eyes. "You and Will go down below deck, rest up. We'll be sleeping in shifts tonight." Becca nodded. Between holding on to each other's sleeves and the side of the ship, they managed to get down safely.

"So you'll-" Will yelled, then lowered his voice, as they were no longer in the storm. "So you'll listen to _him_ when he tells you to go below, but not me?"

"_He_ told me to go down to get some rest, implying that I'll be back topside later. _You_ told me to just go below and not do anything." She made her way to the cabin she and Will shared, leaving a trail of water in her wake.

"What's gotten into you lately?" Will demanded.

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since Barbossa took your sister, you've done nothing but contradict me and side with Jack."

"Because Jack's on my side, and you don't seem to want me to do anything!"

"Because I don't want you getting hurt!" He slammed the door behind them.

"You didn't ever seem to worry about that before!" She rang out her-now stringy-raven locks and her shirt, leaving a puddle of water on the floor.

"I did so!" He peeled his drenched shirt off and shook his hair free of excess water in a rather dog-like fashion.

"Not when you were teaching me how to fight. Not when you let me help out around the smithy." Becca had managed to find a very large dry shirt that came to her knees and quickly changed.

"That was different."

"How?"

"Things were in my control. It was just us. No pirates, no ships, no Tortuga, no rigging, no Jack. Nothing unpredictable."

"Well, life's unpredictable. And I can't live it in a gilded cage, like you seem to want me to."

"Look, if you get hurt, it's on my head! If that means you living in a 'gilded cage,' then so be it!"

"_Why_ won't you let me help on the ship?" she asked again shrilly.

"Because _I love you!_" he shouted. "Because I care about you! Because I don't want to see anything happen to you!" He looked at her sadly and ran his fingers over her face, as a sign of affection. "Because you're all I've got." She stood there silently. He shook his head and crawled wearily into the small, but warm, bed. "G'night."

Becca, deciding she wasn't talking to Will, took a pillow from the bed and threw it onto the floor. She drew her knees in to her chest and pulled her arms out of the sleeves and hugged her shins. She lay curled up in the shirt like this for a while, shivering. After about an hour and a half of tossing and turning, she sighed and uncurled her legs. She climbed cautiously into the bed, so as not to wake Will, and snuggled up next to him for warmth. She laid her head on his warm chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat and remembering when she and Elizabeth used to do this when she was younger, on those cold nights when Becca would get afraid of the storms. She started wondering what had happened to those nights and to Elizabeth. Why had she changed so much? What had happened? What had Becca done that had estranged her so much from her sister? She frowned, sighed, and snuggled closer to Will.

_At least he loves me,_ was her last thought before falling asleep.

* * *

Yes, I know, short chapter. But there's lots of stuff in it! And besides, I was running out of time tonight. After Sunday, updates won't be so quick, cuz I'm going back to school. Cheese and/or cookies of your choice to anyone who reviews! ;) 


	7. Stick to the Code

**Disclaimer: I think by now we all know that I don't own PotC, I'm merely obliged to put this here for legal reasons. Why would I be writing fanfiction otherwise?**

A/N: This is the thing about me. I get too far in a story and I start to worry about OOCness. If you think anyone isout of character, let me know. If you have any ideas of how to fix said problem, let me know. Done.

_Chapter Seven _

Will was awoken the next morning to roars of laughter from most of the rest of the crew. He opened his eyes blearily and squinted at his surroundings. He propped himself up on one elbow and immediately knew what they were laughing about. Becca was curled up next to him with her head still on his chest. He uncurled his arm from around her shoulder and carefully slid out of bed, so as not to wake her. He grabbed his sword from the floor and looked at them menacingly. Or at least, what he _thought_ was menacingly.

"_This _is our firs' line o' defense!" Gibbs managed to choke. "The son of _the _famous Boot-strap Bill! Regular ol' softie, 'e is!" He relapsed into hoots of laughter. He stopped abruptly, as did the rest, when he found the point of Will's sword at his throat. Will looked steadily at him.

"Get out." Gibbs straitened up and looked defensively at him.

"We wos on'y jokin'. Didn't mean no 'arm by it."

"Get out," Will said calmly again, "before I lose my temper." The others just stood there. He looked at them. "You heard me. _Out_." And Will _wasn't_ losing his temper, and that's what scared them. They quickly scuttled back topside, fearing the not-so wrath of Will Turner. He went back over to the bed and shook Becca gently. "Becca?" She rolled over and moaned sleepily. "Becca."

"Five more minutes," she muttered groggily into the mattress.

"Becca, you have to get up." She rolled over onto her side and peered blearily and rather owl-like through half-closed eyelids.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because pirates have still got your sister." She closed her eyes, yawned, and rolled back away from him again.

"And they can keep her," she murmured before quickly falling back asleep. He shook her harder.

"Rebecca Abigail Swan!" She shot up and looked dangerously at him.

"Don't...call...me...that," she growled dangerously. "Go dump me overboard to wake me up if you have to, but _do not_ use my middle name."

"Then get up next time." He smiled cheekily at her and pulled on his shirt, which was stiff now from drying. "See you topside."

* * *

"Dead men tell no tales," Mr. Cotton's parrot whined into the fog.

"Puts a chill in the bones to think of all the good sailors claimed by this passage," Gibbs muttered to Will and Becca.

"Tell me something?" Will asked.

"Hmm?"

"Where did Jack get that compass?"

"Well, I dunno. Not much is known about Jack Sparrow before he came into Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That'd be before I knew 'im, back when he was captain o' the Black Pearl." Will looked surprised and Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Aye. So they're sailin' to the island when his firs' mate comes up to 'im, says everything's an equal share, including the island's location. So, Jack gives up the bearings. That night, there's a mutiny, and they maroon 'im on an island with naught but a pistol with one shot in it. Now, one shot, that's not much good for huntin', but after three weeks of the scorchin' hot sun and a starvin' belly, that pistol starts lookin' mighty friendly." Mr. Gibbs smiled a deranged smile and put to fingers to his temple.

"So _that's _the reason for all the..." Will trailed off and did, in Becca's opinion, a very good Jack impression. Gibbs looked at him.

"Reasons got nothin' ta do with it."

"So how did he escape?"

"I'll tell you how. So Jack, he wades out into the shallows and waits there for three days and nights until all manner of sea creature acclimates to his presence. On the fourth day, he roped a couple of sea turtles, _lashed_ 'em together, and made a raft!" Will raised an eyebrow.

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Gibbs smirked and nodded.

"Aye. Sea turtles." Will cocked his head to one side.

"What did he use for rope?" Gibbs opened his mouth, then closed it again with a perplexed look on his face. The three were suddenly aware of a presence next to them. They looked up to see Jack.

"Human hair," he said. "From my back." Mr. Gibbs nodded as Jack walked away again.

"Ew." Will looked at Becca. "Well, everybody's thinking it, I'm just saying it."

As Will and Jack readied to leave a couple hours later, Becca walked up to them. Will looked at her sternly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Will cut her off.

"Becca, don't even ask. You can't come ashore." She looked at Jack for support.

"Sorry, Signet," he said, shaking his head. "I'm agreeing with 'im on this one. Don't want you in anymore danger than you 'ave to be." He bent down and kissed her forehead. "We'll be back, Love, I promise. And I'm always-"

"A man of your word, I know." He smiled. Becca turned and looked at Will. She jumped on him and nearly strangled him with a hug.

"Becky? I can't breathe. _Rebecca!_" She let go of him and he gasped for air. "It'll only be a little while, Becca. We'll come back, sister in tow." She smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"Cap'n," Gibbs came up to Jack. "What if the worst should happen?"

"Stick to the code." Gibbs nodded.

"Aye, the code."

"What's the code?" Becca asked once Will and Jack had left.

"Any man who falls behind gets left behind." Becca furrowed her brow and started pacing and biting her nails. Several hours later, Elizabeth and Will were heaved up onto the deck.

"_Lizzie!_" Rebecca tackled her sister with a hug and many kisses.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," Elizabeth laughed once she was able to breathe again. "What _on Earth _are you wearing?" Becca didn't answer her sister, but looked up and saw that the ship had drifted away from the cove her sister had just been retrieved from. She turned to Will.

"Where's Jack?"

"He fell behind." Becca broke away from her sister and looked at him, shaking her head.

"No. He said he'd come back. He _promised_! And Jack Sparrow is always a man of his word!" Elizabeth took her hands.

"Rebecca, sometimes...things happen that people don't plan." Becca looked at her and backed away, shaking her head.

"No. No, he promised! Will, we've got to go back for him!" Becca looked at him desperately. He kneeled down to her.

"I'm sorry, we can't," he told her sadly. "We just barely got away ourselves." He helped Elizabeth up. "Let's get you taken care of." He led her below decks, leaving Rebecca looking very dejected in his wake. After a while, she followed them below deck.

"Sorry. Blacksmith's hands, I know they're rough."

"Yes. I mean, no! I mean..." Elizabeth looked at him. "Don't stop." He leaned in to kiss her, but his hand fell on the medallion. He looked at it, puzzled. Elizabeth broke the chain and handed it to him. "I found it on you that day, when we pulled you out of the water." He smiled a little.

"I thought I'd lost it. It was a gift from my father." He looked up. "Why did you take it?"

"I was afraid you were a pirate. That would have been just awful." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, then slammed the medallion down on the table. To avoid conflict, Elizabeth got up and walked away. Becca couldn't scramble up the steps fast enough.

"Rebecca-" Becca looked at her pitifully. Elizabeth's expression softened and she just shook her head and brushed past her.

Will looked up after Elizabeth, and saw Becca standing there. He smiled at her and stood up, but she turned around and ran the rest of the way up the steps before he could say anything. He went quickly up after her and caught her half-way down the deck by the shoulders. He turned her around to see that she had tears in her eyes.

"Becca, what's wrong?"

"I thought you said you loved me."

"I _do_ love you."

"What was that with _Elizabeth_, then?" He looked at her, confused.

"Elizabeth? You thought-" He laughed and bent down to her level. "Becca, you're like a _sister_ to me." Contrary to what he thought, this didn't make matters any better. Rebecca looked even more devastated that she had before.

"_Sister?_" She turned away from him and began to walk away.

"Signet-" She turned around sharply and glared at him.

"No! Don't even!" Tears were in her voice now. "_You_ were so quick to 'stick to the code,' so don't even. That's_ his_ name for me, not yours!" She stomped off to help Anna Maria with...who knows what.


	8. The not so Troilis and Cresseda Chapter

**Disclaimer: I only own the crap that I was forced to wright before Coco Banana Pocky mauled me. Nothing else.**

**_HUGELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! MUST READ TO COMPREHEND CHAPTER:_** Because a) I'm not good and fight scenes, and b) I'm not really into the action-y bit of it, I haven't written the battle scene between the Pearl and the Interceptor. All you need to know is that Becca got captured with the rest, only she remembered the medallion before Will, so she's got it. Also, due to a lack of creativity on my part (and a small bout of writer's block...kicks muse), there might be a lot of skipping around in the story line. So...yeah, that's about it. Oh, yea! I finally get around to describing Becca! Yay! And now, without further adieu, I give you...The Crap Chapter!

_Chapter Eight_

"There's only one shot in that pistol, and we can't die." Barbossa smiled wickedly at Will.

"You can't..." He backed up onto the edge of the ship and put the gun to his head. "But I can."

"Who are you?"

"No one!" Jack rushed forward. "Nobody. Distant friend of my mother's aunt's cousin...twice removed! Excellent singing voice. _U-nique_." There was a sigh of relief from both Swan sisters.

"My name is William Turner, the son of Boot-strap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins." Rebecca shut her eyes tightly in frustration.

Before she knew it, Becca was down in the brig with Will. Elizabeth had been forced to walk the plank, and she hadn't even gotten a chance to say hello to Jack before he'd jumped in after his effects. She paced impatiently.

"Do you mind?" Will said testily.

"No." He gripped her by the shoulders.

"You're making me nervous." She looked momentarily at him, then began pacing again.

"Why am _I_ in here, anyways?" she asked the pirates keeping guard. "I mean, I'm _Elizabeth's sister_. I'm not of any use to _you_." The one with the wooden eye sniggered.

"Like we believe that." She crossed her arms.

"Who do you _think_ I am, then?" The pirate looked at her, then glanced at Will. She jerked her thumb at him. "_His_ daughter?" She wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

"Well, there _are_ worse things in this world," Will snapped.

"But..._Will's_ daughter?"

"You gotta admit, you look a awful lot like 'im." And so she did.

They were both of the same build, rather lean and lanky, and their faces were the same shape. Her hair, though it fell past her shoulders, was about the same shade of brown Will's was. The only thing that might've betrayed her parentage was her eyes. They were almond-shaped, and a very dark green, whereas Will's were more round and hazel. But, as it were, there was no hope of convincing the pirates that they weren't at least related by blood, be it sister or daughter.

_Moving right along...In the cave before they try to slit Will's throat_

Becca struggled against her captures as Barbossa gave his speech. She felt the ropes cutting into her wrists and slipping in the sweat and blood, only making it more painful, but she still struggled. She was close to tears as Barbarossa put the knife to Will's throat.

"By blood begun, by blood...undone." The other pirates had worked up into a chanting frenzy, until Jack came pushing through the crowd.

"You might not want to do that," Jack advised him. Barbossa looked at him.

"Oh, yes, I really think I do." He put the knife back to Will's throat.

"You're funeral," he muttered. Barbossa stopped and looked frustrated at Jack.

"And why might I not want to be doing this?" He strode up to the chest, standing across from Barbossa.

"Because I happen to know tha' Commodore Norrington and 'is men are waiting just off shore in the H.M.S _Dauntless_ for you. Now, I suggest that you send a distraction out. Your boys do what they do best..." he motioned around to the pirates, who laughed. "Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, there you are with two ships, and you can introduce yourself as _Commodore_ Barbossa." Barbossa smiled vaguely at this. "You'll take the grandest of the two as your flagship, no doubt 'bout that...But make _me_ captain of the _Pearl_, and I'll sail under your colors, and give you 10 of me booty." Barbossa squinted shrewdly.

"Make it 50."

"15."

"40!"

"25!...And I'll buy you a Hat. A really _big_ one!" Barbossa looked critically up at his own, time-eaten hat. He shook Jack's hand.

"It's a deal."

"To the boats!" Jack threw his arms up in the air and Barbossa looked at him. "Sorry, sorry. Your job."

"Boys...Take a walk!" They all grinned evilly.

"Not to the boats, then?" Barbossa raised an eyebrow at him. "Right. So, I suggest tha' you don' kill the whelps 'till Norrington's men are dead." Jack picked up a few coins. "Every..." _Clink!_ "Last..." _Clink!_ "One." _Clink!_ He discretely showed Will the last coin before pocketing it. Becca, however, didn't see this and tried to lunge out at him.

"You lied to me!"

"You were planning this from the very beginning," Will growled.

"Uh...yeah! So you see, I saw Signet again, jus' like I promised, Barbossa gets to kill you, jus' like 'e promised, you get to die for Elizabeth, jus' like _you_ promised, and _she_ gets to marry Norrington jus' like _she_ promised. So, you see, we're all men of our word here...except Elizabeth who is, in fact, a woman."

"_Norrington?_ She's marrying bloody _Norrington?_ I don't want _Norrie_ as a brother-in-law!" Barbossa ignored her.

"I have to admit, Jack, I underestimated you."

"You see, me, I'm dishonest. And the dishonest ones you can always trust to be dishonest. It's the _honest_ ones you have to look out for, cuz you never tell when they're gonna do something incredibly..._stupid_." He took the sword from one of the pirates standing guard and kicked him over.

_Again, not too good with the big heroic fight scenes. Elizabeth shows up, Becca is untied, etc. etc. "Opportune Moment..."_

"I suppose we'd better be getting back to the ship," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Yes. Your fiance will be glad to know that you're safe." Elizabeth looked startled for a moment, then walked towards the mouth of the cave. Jack came up behind Will.

"If you were looking for an opportune moment...that was it, mate." Becca stomped up to him and began slapping him in the arm.

"Ow! Ow! What did I do?"

"You just stuck me with _Norrie_ for the next twenty or thirty years, that's what! I'd rather you than him!" Jack smirked. Becca whirled around and pointed a finger at him so quickly he winced and almost cowered in fear of the small child's wrath. "And _you...!_" She attacked his middle with a hug. "You're a stupid pirate, you know that?" she muttered into his chest. He pulled her along to the mouth of he cave, still clutching her head to his chest.

"C'mon, Signet. Let's get me back to my ship.

* * *

"It's not right," Elizabeth said, looking sadly at Jack. 

"They done wot's right by them, tha's all you can ask for." Becca clutched Jack's shoulders tightly and planted herself as firmly as she could on his knee without capsizing the small dingy. He held onto her.

"They won't! I won't let them!" Jack could see in the moonlight tears glistening in her eyes. "I'll go to the noose _with _you if I have to!" He smiled faintly and stroked her hair gently.

"They're jus' doin' wot's right by them, Signet," he muttered. "Law's law. Ev'rbody's gotta answer to it sometime in their life." She buried her head in his shoulder and began sobbing. He held her all the more tightly and tried to calm her down, trying not to let her or any of the others hear his own voice cracking...just a little.

* * *

Told you it was crap! **Alix-Jesusfreak:**hope I cleared things up a bit for you! **Queen C:**you'll see. It's not over _yet! _; )AND NOW FOR THE PART OF THE SHAMPOO BOTTLE YOU DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'RE REALLY BORED: Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Leave it in a review. Open to any CONSTRUCTIVE critisizm (sp?). Please review! 


	9. True Colors

**Disclaimer: Disclaim. Disclaim. Disclaim. See me disclaiming, people? One more chapter after this! Yay!**

_Chapter Nine_

"Will, do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Don't let Signet come. Put 'er under house arrest, if you have to, just make sure she's not there."

"Of course not! I'm not _stupid_, you know!" Will looked at Jack through the bars. "Just out of curiosity, what makes you say that?" Jack just shook his head.

"Never mind," he muttered. "It's stupid, anyways." He looked sadly at Becca's sleeping form on the floor. She'd fallen asleep talking to Jack a little over an hour ago. "Stupid..."

"Jack?" Jack looked up at him. "You care about her, don't you?"

"O'course I care 'bout er'. She's a li'l kid, i'n't she?" He looked back down at her and reached through the bars. "She ain't done no 'arm ta anyone." He ran his fingers gently through her hair.

"I mean past that, Jack."

"Well, I guess i's a'cos... Your girl's got spunk, Will, she's a fighter. Guess she jus' kinda reminds me of...me."

"You?"

"Believe it or not, I _wos_ ten, once!" Both Will and Jack sort of laughed. "I guess there're jus' too many regrets, and tha's why I like 'er so well."

"Regrets? About what?" Jack leaned his forehead up against the bars and started running his forefinger up and down the bridge of Becca's nose.

"Ev'rything. Pirates, _The Pearl_, ev'rything. An' I jus' don' want 'er to make the same mistakes I did, tha's all. After me dad ran off and me mum died, I fell in with the wrong crowd. And worse, I _knew_ they wos the wrong crowd. And I've regretted it ever since. But she's still got a chance." Will turned his head to one side. It had never occurred to him that Jack hadn't actually _wanted_ to be a pirate.

"You talk like she's your daughter." Jack smiled faintly and shook his head.

"No. No. Never 'ad a daughter, don't think I ever will. But she's the closest I've got...and she's all that I've got."

"You barely know her."

"Sure, I do. We've talked a lot more than you think. 'Sides, just once is all it takes." Will looked at him curiously. "The human condition's a funny one, Will. You see, most people talk about a soul mate in terms of a wife or a husband..._romantically_, if you will. But tha's not always true. Sometimes, if you're fortunate enough, you'll meet tha' one person...tha' one person tha' you know you'll never love in a romantic way, but tha' you know they were made for you. That one person that you know that when you were born, God cut 'em outta the very stars, jus' for you, and you know in an instant that you'll love 'em much deeper than anyone'll ever know." He trailed his fingers lightly across her forehead and a look of sadness came into his eyes. The corner of her eye twitched a little as his fingers ran past it. "And then you 'ave ta leave 'em, and it 'urts a lot more'n you'd think it would. It feels kinda like...'alf your soul's bein' ripped out while the other 'alf stays behind. An' then you feel so empty without tha' other half, and you realize then that...that you've been walkin' 'round 'alf empty all yer life. You were whole fer a while, but you didn' realize it 'till it wos too late, and ya gotta go 'round as a 'alf again. Or maybe, just maybe, i's the other way 'round an' yer the one leavin', and you don' want them to be a 'alf anymore, but they have ta be. Cos there's no other way." Jack blinked back a tear and shook his head. "But tha's just the opinion of a 'alf-drunk pirate...and wot's tha' worth, right?"

"Well, it's a better opinion than some." Jack looked sharply up at Will as if he'd only just realized he was there.

"This goes with you _to the grave_, Turner! Who's ta say I 'aven't still got one o' 'em Aztec pieces!"

"I'll die with this," Will nodded.

"Not even Signet 'ears 'bout this, savvy? '_Specially_ not Signet! Gotta save face, ya know."

"And, of course, saving face is everything when you're facing the gallows," Will said sarcastically.

"'Ey! I may jus' be one man with one life, but my reputation will live on forever!" Will nodded, humoring Jack, and looked at Becca.

"I'd better get her to bed."

"No!" Will looked at him. "I mean, no. Can't she stay, jus' a li'l while longer?" Will looked at Jack and saw the pleading in his eyes. He stood up slowly.

"Half an hour, then I'm taking her back to the cabin." Jack smiled a little as a thanks as Will just nodded and walked off.

"You'll never know, will you? You'll never know how much I loved you. You'll never know what I really think of you." He ran his hand lightly over her face. As if on cue, her eyes fluttered blearily open. It took a minute for her eyes to focus, but she smiled sleepily when they did. She sat up slowly and sat on her knees at Jack's level.

"I had a dream about you," she told him sleepily, stretching.

"Really? And what wos tha'?"

"You escaped. You were standing there at the gallows, but you somehow escaped. You had hidden your sword somewhere, I think, and you managed to get yourself free." She smiled then. "And the guard was wearing your hat, you know, to sort of taunt you. And then you took your hat back and you kicked him over. And then, in an incredibly heroic moment..." she flung her arms out wide at the last few words, "You looked at him and you said...'Do not. Touch. The Hat.'" She giggled a little as she flopped backwards against the cell. He smiled at her.

"Any chance that might happen?" She smiled.

"Definitely." She turned around to face him. "You're Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy? You can do anything." She hugged him as best she could through the bars. "Anything at all." He smiled at her.

_The ignorance of a child is a wond'rful thing,_ he thought.


	10. So how 'Bout Them Pirates?

**Disclaimer: You'd think by now, I wouldn't have to do this anymore, wouldn't you?**

A/N: Last chapter, folks! Please, for my sake, read the note at the end. I apologize in advance for any lines I get incorrectly or out of order. And now, without further adieu, I give you...

_Chapter Ten_

"...These crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, Jack Sparrow is herby sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead."

"_Captain! Captain_ Jack Sparrow!" Jack muttered under his breath. He looked curiously at the crowd as they were parted here and there by an unseen force. Eventually, Becca stood at the front of the crowd. _No!_ Jack thought. _Why now? Why here? Hasn't she any common sense at all?_

"Wait!" Becca interrupted the guardsman in the middle of Jack's, as described, numerous crimes. He looked down at her blankly, until it finally registered who she was.

"Miss Swan!" he bowed his head.

"Oh! Get up!" Will tried to elbow his way through the crowd, but they only packed in tighter, all straining to get a look at who it was.

"Erm...Miss Swan?" the guardsman asked.

"If this man deserves to die, then so do I." There was a gasp from the crowd. She walked slowly up the steps of the gallows to stand beside Jack.

"_What're you doing?_" muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"I told you I'd go to the noose with you if I had to," Becca muttered back. "And Rebecca Swan is always a girl of her word." Jack tried to be angry with her, rather than touched, and the look on his face that expressed this was an odd, rather contorted one.

"You're defending a...a _pirate_, Miss Swan?" the poor, confused guard asked perplexedly.

"If he deserves to die, then so do I. If what _he's_ done counts as piracy, well then...I'm a pirate, too." Another gasp from the crowd.

"_Get outta here!_" Jack hissed down to her.

"But...there's no crime against your record," the guard argued. Becca took a deep breath.

"Truancy, stowing away on a ship of Her Majesty the Queen's royal navy, aiding in the commandeering of a ship of Her Majesty's royal navy, aiding _pirates, _sailing with pirates out of Tortuga, theft...must I go on, Mr. Andrews?" Will finally managed to break through the crowd and ran up onto the platform. He grabbed Becca's waist and covered her mouth.

"Terribly sorry, sir. She's half-crazed from her terrible, traumatic experience. Doesn't know what she's saying, really. Sorry. Sorry!" he added out to the crowd. He dragged the kicking and screaming Rebecca backwards off of the platform, only letting go of her when they were safely hidden in the crowd. Mr. Andrews continued his list of Jack's crimes. Will let go of her mouth and took her hand, pulling her through the crowd towards her father.

"I _am not_ crazy!"

"Yes, you are! Only a crazy person would try something like that! What were you playing at? You could've been hurt, you could've been killed!"

"I was trying to help Jack!

"Let me ask you something: Do you think you're invincible? Do you think nothing can kill you? Because it can, Rebecca. Because I won't always be around to pull you off the gallows or to save you from pirates."

"Let me ask _you_ something, _Mr. Turner_," she said coldly. He was glad she couldn't see the hurt look on his face. She never called him Mr. Turner. "Since when do you abandon your friends? Have you _ever_ known the meaning of loyalty? Or is it something you just say to make you sound better?" He spun around quickly, looking like he could've smacked her.

"_That_ is none of your business. Call me anything you want, but not _disloyal_. Never disloyal. You couldn't in your wildest dreams begin to understand what abandonment means." He said all of this in a deadly whisper that she could barely here. He jerked roughly on her wrist. "Come on." He jerked her roughly through the crowd, his anger slowly ebbing away. She was only a child after all. A child with romanticized dreams about the world, that everyone's loyal and the good guys always win and they always live. So she was ignorant, it wasn't her fault.

"_Rebecca!_" Governor Swan's voice jerked him from his thoughts. He gave Becca a quick, discreet hug then handed her over to her father. "Thank you, Mr. Turner, for returning her to me. You have got a lot of explaining to do, Rebecca!" But Rebecca wasn't listening. She was staring in horror at Jack as the last of the crimes were being listed. Will walked back up to the platform where the Swans and Commodore Norrington were standing.

"Elizabeth, I should have said this to you every day since I met you. I love you." Without waiting for a response, Will pushed his way quickly back through the crowd.

"May God have mercy on your soul," Mr. Andrews concluded.

Elizabeth looked like she would faint. Becca smiled momentarily, then remembered Jack. She stared, mouth agape, as the drum roll started. She had lost all awareness of her surroundings, now, being focused on Jack. She didn't here shouts of "move!" or see her sister faint. The drum roll stopped and she turned and buried her face in her father's coat as she heard the creak of the rope. She looked back up again when she heard people screaming. She nearly laughed when she saw Jack safe...well, relatively...standing on his toes on the blade of a sword and Will fighting with the hangman. She jumped down to join the fight, but her father caught her by the arm and pulled her back up.

"Oh, no you don't! I think you've caused enough trouble for one day." But once Will and Jack moved the fight away from the gallows, Becca managed to avoid her father's grasp and follow them out onto the outcropping, where they were surrounded by guardsmen.

"Upon our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency!" the governor said to Will. "And this is how you repay me? By throwing in your lot with _him_?"

"Governor Swan, if all I've accomplished here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots today instead of one, then so be it. At least my conscience is clear."

"Mr. Turner, you forget your place!" Norrington snapped at him

"It's right here, between you and Jack." Becca pushed her way through the soldiers to stand in front of Jack and grasp his hand tightly.

"As is mine," Elizabeth said, stepping in beside Will.

"Lower your weapons," Governor Swan ordered. "For God's sake, put them down!" The soldiers lowered their weapons. Jack stepped forwards.

"Well, I think we've all arrived at a very special place here. Spiritually...ecumenically... _grammatically_...But I really must be leaving now." He backed out of the circle and looked at Elizabeth. "Elizabeth...it never would've worked out between us, Love. And Will! ...Nice hat." He turned to Becca and made another of his elaborate bows, making her giggle as always. "My lady." He kissed her hand. "My dear Signet." He backed up towards the wall. "Gentlemen, you will always remember this as the day you almost hung Jack Spa-whoa!" He fell backwards into the sea. They all rushed over to the wall in time to see his head surface.

"Idiot! The only place he's got to go is back to the noose!" Becca had the strong urge to kick Norrington's first officer in the rear end, or push him over the wall, but decided that it would be too easy, and there were too many witnesses. Commodore Norrington looked at Governor Swan.

"Commodore? Perhaps piracy is sometimes the best course of action, and perhaps...sometimes...the best course of action _is _piracy itself?" Norrington walked up to Will and pulled out his sword.

"Mr. Turner, this is a beautiful sword. I should expect its maker would show as much care in every aspect of his life."

"Thank you." The commodore turned to leave. His first officer looked at him.

"Commodore? Don't you mean to follow him?"

"I suppose we could afford to give him _one_ day's head start."

"So this is your choice, then?" Elizabeth's father asked her once Norrington and his men had dispersed. "After all, he _is_ a blacksmith."

"No," she said, taking off his hat. "He's a pirate." As they leaned in to kiss, Governor Swan cleared his throat a little and turned around. Becca followed suit.

"So...How 'bout those pirates?" she said awkwardly as they walked away. "Funny logic, they've got, but I've got it all down to one question: Who was the man that did the waking?"

"What?"

"The way to counter bad luck by waking a sleeping man. 'The man who did the waking was the man who was sleeping drinks. But the man who was sleeping drinks was the man listening to a proposition made by the man who did the waking.' So, really, it's all down to who was the man who did the waking?" Her father just looked at her oddly. "Like I said, how 'bout those pirates?"

"Actually, I've drawn up a five point plan for the capture of pirates..." Governor Swan started.

* * *

"I had to endure three hours of his 'five point plan!' THREE HOURS, Will! Just so that you could kiss my sister! You owe me for this one, Turner!"

"Alright! Alright! What do I have to do, then?" Becca thought for a moment, then pulled a piece of parchment and spread it out on the ground in front of them.

"Help me with this." It was a diagram with stick figures, labeled "man sleeping" and "man waking."

-Fin-

* * *

Hope y'all liked the ending. I might write another one when Dead Man's Chest comes out, I'm not sure. **_PLEASE READ THIS:_** And now for shameless self-advertisement! Yay! Please, go and click on my name. Scroll through my forever-long bio, you don't even have to read it. I haven't got any other PotC fics, but I've got 8 others. Please, sir (or ma'am), if you've any 'eart at all...We're all starving, and winter's coming, you see...

Anyways, just please go read my other fics. No other PotC, but plenty of Harry Potter, a Labyrinth, and a LotR (though, I don't suggest that one). Reviews make my happy little hermit world spin. : )


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